Hayman'a  Tourxxt  Shov,  Mayayuez,  Porto  Rico 


America’s  Debt  to  the  West  Indies 

SAMUEL  GUY  IJilMAN 

\  Secretary,  Committee  on  Cooperation  in  Latin  America 

J ^  . 

-  O  , ,  VV\ 


(cop.  v) 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
Columbia  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/americasdebttoweOOinma 


AMERICA’S  DEBT  TO  THE  WEST  INDIES 

Samuel  Guv  Inman, 

Secretary,  Committee  on  Cooperation  in  Latin  America 


THE  POLITICAL  SITUATION 

ORLU  readjustments  and  economic  difficulties  liave  not  failed 
to  have  their  effect  on  the  West  Indies  along  with  the  rest  of 
the  world.  The  old  proposal  for  European  countries  to  trans¬ 
fer  their  island  possessions  in  the  West  Indies  to  the  United 
States  has  been  revived,  largely  because  of  the  financial  de¬ 
pression  in  the  islands  and  in  Europe.  In  mission  matters  this 
transfer  of  responsibility  is  going  forward.  The  English  Baptists  re¬ 
cently  asked  the  American  Baptist  Home  Missionary  Society  to  share 
with  them  the  responsibility  for  work  in  Jamaica.  The  political  domi¬ 
nance  of  the  United  States  in  the  West  Indies  has  been  challenged  very 
sharply  during  the  year.  After  a  general  discussion  of  the  occupation  of 
Haiti  by  the  United  States  and  the  eruelties  of  the  expeditionary  forces, 
the  United  States  Senate  appointed  a  committee  to  investigate  these 
charges.  The  State  Department  recently  announced  the  impending 
withdrawal  of  the  United  States  military  government  from  Santo 
Domingo.  Difficulties  have  been  encountered,  however,  and  the  republic 
continues  to  be  governed  by  the  Navy  Department  of  the  tinited  States 
Government.  Porto  Ricans  have  protested  strenuously  against  the 
activities  of  Governor  Riley,  who  was  recently  appointed  to  that  post. 

Industrial  Conditions 

Industrial  conditions  in  most  of  the  West  Indies  islands  are  more 
tlian  ever  depressing  and  urge  solution.  Some  economists  point  out 
that  these  tropical  islands  are  the  next  logical  part  of  the  world  to  be 
exploited  by  capitalists.  The  difficult  situation  in  which  the  popula 
tions  of  these  crowded  islands  already  find  themselves  has  forced  a  large 
emigration  to  the  United  States.  There  is  great  need  of  a  thorough 
study  of  the  economic  and  spiritual  problems  of  this  part  of  the  world. 
Practically  no  data  exist  which  are  reliable.  With  modern  agricultural 
inventions  and  the  development  of  sanitation,  the  tropics  are  no  longer 
uninhabitable  for  tbe  white  man,  but  may  be  looked  upon  as  an  open 
field  for  his  future  activities.  In  spite  of  these  pressing  industrial 
prol)lems,  the  missionary  societies  of  the  world  have  onlj’  one  adequate 


3 


iluiustrial  school,  the  most  needed  type  of  education,  in  all  of  the 
W'est  Indies. 

Our  Far-Flung  Battle  Line 

The  responsibilit}'  of  the  t'hristian  churches  of  the  United  States 
toward  the  countries  of  the  Caribbean  Sea  is  made  imperative  by  the 
large  political  iiiHuence  we  have  recently  assumed  in  those  countries. 
Few  North  Americans  realize  how  extensively  and  with  what  rapidity 
our  “far-flung  battle-line”  is  growing.  Our  conception  of  our  native 
land  is  generally  limited  to  the  forty-eighty  states  represented  in  our 
national  congress.  It  is  a  j)ositive  shock  therefore  for  the  ordinary 
North  American  to  travel  through  the  various  Carribean  countries,  as 
I  have,  and  come  face  to  face  with  the  predominance  of  the  influence  of 
the  United  States  in  these  little  C’aribbean  republics,  so-called.  This 
influence  has  increased  gradually  but  steadily.  As  the  result  of  the 
Spanish-American  War  we  came  into  complete  possession  of  Porto 
Rico.  While  Cuba  was  turned  back  to  her  own  ])eople,  by  means  of 
the  Platt  Amendment,  we  still  maintain  virtually  a  protectorate  in  that 
country  and  own  outright  a  naval  station  at  Cuantanamo. 

In  191.5,  after  one  of  the  worst  of  Haiti’s  many  disturbances,  we 
landed  marines  on  that  island,  directed  new’  elections  and  proposed  a 
treaty  w'hich  gives  us  practical  control  of  the  country.  A  year  later 
a  revolution  in  Santo  Domingo  was  the  cause  for  our  landing  marines 
there  and  when  the  government  then  in  power  w'ould  not  agree  to  the 
kind  of  treaty  that  the  United  States  desired,  martial  law  was  declared 
and  Admiral  Knapp  was  made  Military  Governor.  Since  that  time  the 
government  of  the  Dominican  Republic  has  been  carried  on  by  decrees 
of  the  Military  Governor.  In  1916  the  United  States  Government  })ur- 
chased  for  twenty-five  million  dollars  the  Virgin  Islands  in  order  that 
our  strategic  ))osition  in  the  West  Indies  might  be  still  more  secure. 

The  influence  of  the  United  States  has  also  been  extended  over  most 
of  the  other  countries  of  the  Caribbean  area  by  the  new’  Caribbean 
policy,  begun  during  the  Roosevelt  administration  and  continued  and 
develoj)ed  during  that  of  Taft  and  Wilson.  This  })olicy  is  marked  hy  a 
tendency  to  force  peace  and  order  by  establishing  fiscal  and  jjolice 
control,  hy  denying  recognition  to  revolutionary  governments  and  by 
blocking  the  securing  of  financial  aid  from  abroad.  These  me.ans  w’ere 
used  to  restrain  violence  and  irregularities  and  to  maintain  ))rogress,  .as 
the  United  St.ates  understood  that  w’ord.  It  amounted  to  the  est.ahlish- 
ment  of  protectorates  over  these  small,  disturbed  lands,  although  that 
term  has  been,  as  far  as  j)ossible,  avoided.  In  subjecting  them  to  gu.ar- 
di.anship  or  tutelage,  we  h.ave  claimed  that  our  aim  was  not  to  deprive 


4 


them  of  their  sovereignty  or  independence,  but  to  extend  needed  help  in 
insuring  stability,  solvency,  sanitation,  protection  from  foreign  creditors 
and  general  welfare. 

'I’liis  altruism  has  not  been  altogether  appreciated  by  the  Caribbean 
countries.  They  seem  to  think  they  had  rather  be  rowdy  cbildren  in 
their  own  house  than  orderly  children  in  that  of  someone  else.  On 
the  other  hand  the  United  States  believes  that  we  have  come  to  a  time 
in  the  world’s  life  when  continued  disorder  cannot  be  allowed,  both 
because  of  its  dangers  to  tbe  peace  of  the  United  States  and  to  the 
ecpiilibrium  of  all  international  relations,  economic  as  well  as  political. 

The  Attitude  of  the  Church 

Missionary  forces  are  not  the  ones  to  decide  this  difficult  and  delicate 
problem.  But  it  is  very  clear  that  if  the  actions  of  our  Government 
toward  these  little  countries  do  not  square  with  our  Christian  profes¬ 
sions,  our  missionary  work  among  those  people  will  meet  with  a  hope¬ 
less  handicap.  As  a  committee  representing  the  churches  and  mission 
boards  recently  said  to  the  Senate  Committee  investigating  relations 
with  Santo  Domingo  and  Haiti: 

“We  believe  that  moral  and  humanitarian  considerations  rather  than 
})urely  j)olitical  and  financial  should  hold  the  dominant  place  in  the 
determination  of  our  relations  to  the  Republic  of  Haiti  and  to  the 
Dominican  Republic. 

“We  are  deeply  concerned  because,  as  is  generally  admitted,  citizens 
of  the  United  States  have  given  occasion  for  the  criticism  of  American 
justice  and  considerateness  in  the  treatment  of  the  people  of  these  two 
countries. 

“We  desire  to  state  to  the  Special  Committee  of  the  Senate  that  we 
believe  the  Christians  of  America  are  watching  the  attitude  of  our 
Government  towards  those  Republics  with  deep  concern,  feeling  that 
the  f  air  name  of  America,  her  high  traditions  and  her  treatment  of 
neighbors  are  involved.” 

Political  Unity  Desire  of  Great  Leaders  of  Past 

Before  the  S])anish-American  War,  which  marked  the  practical 
control  of  the  West  Indies  by  the  United  States,  the  political  unity  of 
the  West  Indies  had  been  a  favorite  topic  among  the  great  men  of 
those  islands.  A  distinguished  group,  including  Dr.  Betances,  of  Porto 
Rico;  A.  Firmin,  of  Haiti;  Torres  Caicedo,  of  Colombia,  Jose  Marti, 
of  Cuba,  and  P'.  Carvajal,  of  Santo  Domingo,  with  Paris  and  Havana 
as  centers,  w'orked  toward  this  unity  with  great  enthusiasm  during  the 
last  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century.  A  study  of  the  lives  of  these 


5 


great  men  would  be  most  helpful  to  all  who  desire  to  understand  the 
aspirations  of  the  people  of  the  Antilles. 

One.  of  the  greatest  of  these  leaders  was  Kugenio  de  Hostos,  who 
was  born  in  Porto  Rieo^  educated  in  Spain  and^  after  traveling  in  all 
parts  of  the  worlds  especially  in  South  America^  gave  the  last  fifteen 
years  of  his  life  to  education  in  Santo  Domingo.  De  Hostos  is  an 
illustration  of  the  kind  of  man  the  West  Indies  are  able  to  produce. 
H  e  is  one  of  those  Latin  geniuses  that  seem  to  be  capable  of  doing  any 
amount  of  intellectual  work  in  any  number  of  different  spheres.  He 
wrote  one  of  the  best  treatises  on  constitutional  law  that  has  ever  been 
published.  An  edition  in  English  is  seheduled  for  the  near  future.  His 
educational  principles,  wdiich  w'ere  given  through  his  years  of  teaching 
in  the  normal  school  in  Santo  Domingo,  show  some  of  the  most  modern 
pedagogical  theories.  A  volume  called  “Meditando”  shows  the  remark¬ 
able  intellectual  grasp  of  the  man.  First  there  is  a  long  essay  on 
Hamlet,  a  splendid  critical  study  of  Shakespeare’s  play;  then  there 
follow  short  essays  on  several  of  the  great  men  of  South  America;  a 
criticism  of  various  authors  in  Santo  Domingo;  a  treatise  on  the  laws  of 
teaching,  on  political  themes  and  a  literary  criticism.  This  remarkable 
man  was  educated  in  Spain,  and  eame  to  be  recognized  as  an  authority 
in  literature  and  politics  in  Argentina,  Chile,  Santo  Domingo,  Cuba  and 
Porto  Rieo,  in  all  of  which  coimtries  he  lived  for  a  more  or  less  brief 
period  of  time.  Before  Europe  had  opened  scientifie  careers  to  wmmen, 
Hostos  had  persuaded  the  Chilean  Government  to  open  its  courses  in 
medicine  and  law  to  women.  He  was  also  the  first  man  to  urge  the 
importance  in  Argentina  of  the  construction  of  the  Trans-Andean  Rail¬ 
road.  In  Santo  Domingo  he  edited  the  first  laws  concernmg  education 
and  directed  for  nine  years  the  public  education  of  that  country.  While 
in  Peru  he  began  a  campaign  in  favor  of  the  protection  of  the  Chinese 
there  and  aided  the  national  government  in  its  controversy  concerning 
the  Oroya  railroad.  He  w'orked  most  arduously  for  the  independence 
of  Cuba  and  offered  to  earn  by  means  of  his  pen  a  million  pesetas  for 
the  Liberal  Cause. 


CHRISTIAN  UNITY 

Present  conditions,  w'ith  the  preponderant  infiuence  of  the  United 
.States,  intimates  that  the  dream  of  })olitical  unity  of  the  West  Indies 
will  not  be  realized.  Some  of  the  younger  Christian  leaders  are  now- 
dreaming  of  a  united  Christian  church  for  all  of  the  West  Indies,  as 
better  than  a  united  political  state.  This  is  a  vision  which  w'e  can  well 
afford  to  encourage.  The  unity  of  the  Evangelical  church  in  individual 
countries  of  the  West  Indies  is  ])rogressing  encouragingly  and  there  are 


6 


not  lacking  signs  of  a  spread  of  this  unity  throughout  the  region.  The 
Kvangelical  'J'lieological  Seminary  of  Porto  Rico,  in  which  six  different 
connnunions  are  coo})erating,  is  already  spreading  its  influence  into 
Santo  Domingo,  the  V’^irgin  Islands,  Venezuela  and  Cuba,  and  has  even 
sent  one  of  its  students  as  a  minister  to  the  union  Spanish-speaking 
congregation  in  New  York  City.  Three  of  its  graduates,  members  of 
three  different  communions,  were  sent  to  Santo  Domingo  immediately 
on  the  opening  recentl}'^  of  the  union  evangelical  program  in  Santo 
Domingo. 

Porto  Rico 

Porto  Rico  presents  one  of  the  best  organized  cooperative  movements 
in  any  mission  field.  When  the  Island  was  awarded  to  the  United 
States  by  the  terms  of  the  peace  treaty  signed  by  the  United  States  and 
Spain,  at  the  close  of  the  Spanish- American  AVar,  the  representatives  of 
home  mission  boards  in  the  United  States  decided  to  enter  the  Island 
with  a  clear  division  of  territorial  responsibility.  From  that  day  until 
the  present  the  zoning  system  has  been  adhered  to  by  the  following 
denominations :  Methodist  Episcopal,  Presbyterian  U.  S.  A.,  Congre¬ 
gational,  Baptist  (Northern),  United  Brethren,  Disciples  of  Christ, 
Christian  Church.  These  same  bodies  have  formed  the  Evangelical 
Union  of  Porto  Rico,  which  has  an  annual  meeting  with  an  Executive 
Secretary,  allocated  by  one  of  the  missions,  giving  all  of  his  time  to 
interdenominational  work.  The  denominational  names  are  very  little 
used,  congregations  being  generally  known  as  “La  Iglesia  Evangelica 

de  - ”  (the  Evangelical  Church  of  -  location). 

'I'he  first  large  development  of  this  Evangelical  Union  was  the  Union 
Press,  paper  and  bookstore.  In  the  old  days  there  were  six  small 
papers  published  by  as  many  different  denominations.  Gradually  these 
h;ive  been  united  until  now  Protestantism  speaks  in  a  united  voice 
tlirough  the  one  magnificent  weekly  journal,  “El  Puerto  Rico  Evan- 
gelico.’’  This  paper  has  the  largest  circulation  of  any  periodical  on 
the  Island.  Its  influence  is  widely  felt,  not  only  among  the  evangelical 
constituency,  hut  also  among  tlie  people  at  large,  including  government 
officials.  It  has  been  especially  powerful  in  advocating  social  reforms 
(luring  the  last  few  years.  This  began  with  the  fight  f  or  prohibition. 

When  the  Porto  Ricans,  by  the  passing  of  the  Jones  Bill,  were 
given  the  right  of  citizens,  after  waiting  practically  twenty  years  for 
it,  the  first  important  question  that  was  settled  at  the  poles  was  that  of 
prohibition.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  many  other  strong 
organized  bodies  were  opjiosed  to  j^rohihition.  Although  the  evangelical 
forces  numbered  only  about  ]  2,000,  so  closely  united  were  they  that. 


7 


hacked  with  their  magnificent  press,  the  best  equipped  in  Porto  Rico, 
they  sowed  tlie  Island  with  literature  and  sent  their  speakers  every¬ 
where,  brought  to  their  side  the  aggressive  moral  forces  and  led  the 
cause  of  prohibition  to  victory  by  a  two-thirds  majority.  'Fliis  is  one 
of  the  finest  illustrations  in  all  history  of  what  a  small  body  of  Chris¬ 
tians,  thoroughly  united  and  profoundly  eonvinced  of  the  righteousness 
of  their  cause,  is  able  to  accomplish.  Following  this  campaign  the 
evangelical  churches  decided  to  throw'  their  infiuenee  on  the  side  of  law 
and  order  and  the  imj)rovement  of  social  and  sanitary  conditions.  Theirs 
was  the  strongest  backing  received  by  government  officials  who  cleaned 
out  red-light  districts  and  started  many  moral  reforms.  As  an  encourage¬ 
ment  to  the  Anti-Tuberculosis  campaign,  to  cite  onl}^  one  example,  the 
churches  presented  the  government  with  a  cottage  for  tubercular 
patients.  One  Sunday  a  year  is  given  by  all  the  churches  to  the  advo¬ 
cacy  of  social  reform  at  which  time  not  only  do  the  pastors  preach  ser¬ 
mons  on  the  subject,  but  special  literature  is  distributed  and  the 
attention  of  public  officials  called  to  the  w'ays  that  the  moral  and  social 
life  of  the  people  may  be  bettered. 

At  the  present  time  the  churches  are  engaged  in  a  strong  movement 
for  evangelization  and  self-support,  know'ii  as  the  “Porto  Rico  for 
Christ  Movement.”  This  is  a  spontaneous  development  among  the 
churches  themselves,  pressing  for  a  deeper  spirit  of  devotion  and  for 
emphasis  on  evangelism,  Christian  stewardship,  and  some  form  of  com¬ 
munity  work  for  each  local  church.  One  month  a  special  effort  was 
made  to  promote  family  worship,  tracts  on  Christian  family  life  and  on 
prayer  being  circulated.  Another,  special  prayer-meetings  were  held 
and  personal  w'orkers’  classes  organized.  During  the  first  three  months 
of  192!2  simultaneous  evangelistic  campaigns  were  promoted  in  all  the 
churches.  The  campaign  next  is  directed  toward  building  up  the  Sun¬ 
day  Schools  and  Young  People’s  societies.  Stewardshij),  Christian 
literature  and  a  drive  for  subscribers  to  the  union  evangelical  j)aper  are 
other  subjects  to  be  stressed  during  a  month  devoted  to  their  interests, 
(ireat  enthusiasm  has  been  awakened  over  the  camj)aign  and  reports 
indicate  that  already  there  is  quickened  life  among  the  churches. 

'riiere  is  a  strong  feeling  existent  among  the  Porto  Ricans  for  abso¬ 
lute  unity  of  the  Church.  Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the 
F.vangelical  Seminary,  which,  although  its  opening  session  was  in  the 
fall  of  1919,  now  has  some  thirty  students  and  is  doing  high  grade 
work.  It  is  located  opposite  the  campus  of  the  Insular  University  and 
its  students  take  their  academic  work  in  the  University.  Some  of  the 
professors  of  the  Seminary  have  also  been  teaching  part  time  in  the 
University.  The  students  have  formed  an  evangelistic  company  which 


8 


goes  tlirougli  tlie  Island,  liolding  public  meetings,  some  of  them  preach¬ 
ing  and  others  ])laying  instruments  and  singing.  .Many  people  have 
been  brought  into  the  churches  through  the  evangelistic  campaigns  of 
these  students. 

Because  of  the  splendid  educational  system  of  the  government,  mis¬ 
sionary  societies  have  not  organized  many  schools.  Two  outstanding 
educational  institutions,  however,  are  the  University  of  the  Antilles  at 
San  German,  and  Blanche  Kellogg  Institute,  at  Santurce.  The  school 
at  San  German,  while  largely  supported  by  the  Presbyterians,  has  an 
interdenominational  Board  of  Trustees  and  students  come  from  all 
Protestant  communions.  Blanche  Kellogg  Institute  is  Congregational, 
but  the  young  women  who  are  there  preparing  for  Christian  w'ork  are 
supported  by  six  different  denominations. 

Another  outstanding  cooperative  movement  is  that  of  the  summer 
conference.  This  is  a  kind  of  Northfield  where  all  the  evangelical 
workers  meet  for  ten  days,  engage  in  Bible  study  and  discuss  the 
common  problems  of  the  Porto  Rican  church. 

Cuba 

Evangelical  work  in  C’uba  w\as  not  begun  by  a  cooperative  agree¬ 
ment  as  in  Porto  Rico.  Unity  has  been  therefore  more  difficult  to 
attain.  The  Committee  on  C’ooperation  has  been  working  several  years 
on  this  problem,  however.  By  the  withdrawal  of  two  mission  boards 
from  the  Island  and  the  rearrangement  of  the  territory  among  the 
others,  there  has  come  to  be  very  little  overlapping.  The  long  narrow 
shape  of  Cuba  and  the  division  of  territorial  res|)onsibility  })laees  the 
missions  (juite  a  distance  a])art,  which  fact  has  made  cooperation  among 
them  difficult.  The  Presbyterians  and  Friends  have  united  in  the  })ub- 
lieation  of  a  weekly  ])aper  which  has  a  wide  eireulation  among  other 
denominations  also.  A  union  bookstore  has  been  maintained  in  the  city 
of  Havana.  I.ittle  more  than  a  year  ago  this  bookstore,  “La  Nueva 
.Senda,”  wliile  occupying  a  very  inadequate  room,  was  located  near  the 
center  of  the  city  and  not  only  had  become  a  literature  center  for  the 
Island,  having  orders  on  its  books  at  one  time  for  a  thousand  hymn- 
books  and  as  many  Bibles,  but  also  found  oj)j)ortunity  for  introducing 
Christian  literature  to  a  large  number  of  peoj)le  who  otherwise  were 
not  in  touch  with  the  evangelical  work.  Because  of  its  central  position 
as  a  shipi)ing  center,  this  store  was  used  to  fill  orders  received  from 
various  ])arts  of  the  world  and  a  large  number  of  titles  were  available 
at  I. a  Nueva  Senda.  It  is  unfortunate  that  the  ffnancial  backing  of 
this  store  has  been  so  limited  that  it  has  been  forced  to  give  up  the  little 


9 


room  rented  in  the  center  of  the  city  and  become  simply  a  mail-order 
house  with  its  stock  kept  in  the  backroom  of  one  of  the  missions. 

'I'lie  summer  conference  of  Cuba  has  been  widely  attended  by  })rac- 
tically  all  the  evangelical  workers  and  given  splendid  results.  The 
general  Committee  on  Cooperation  in  l^atin  America,  headquarters  in 
New  York,  sends  speakers  yearly  to  this  conference,  as  it  does  to  the 
one  in  Porto  Rico.  For  some  time  the  Friends  Board  allocated  one  of 
their  missionaries  to  the  interdenominational  work.  Since  that  mis¬ 
sionary  left  the  Island  no  one  else  has  been  secured  and  cooperation  is 
suffering  from  the  lack  of  such  a  secretary. 

Santo  Domingo 

Those  who  look  forward  to  the  unity  of  the  Church,  while  rejoic¬ 
ing  in  cooperation  through  zoning  systems  like  that  in  Porto  Rico, 
recognize  that  it  is  not  perfect.  When,  therefore,  it  became  evident 
that  several  mission  boards  were  planning  to  open  work  in  the  virgin 
field  of  Santo  Domingo,  it  was  decided  that  a  united  front  of  Protes¬ 
tantism  should  be  presented  in  that  field.  The  Secretary  of  the  Com¬ 
mittee  on  Coojjeration  in  Latin  America  was  asked  to  visit  the  field  and 
make  a  study  of  the  situation  and  report  a  jjlan  for  occupation  of  the 
field  to  all  the  mission  boards  doing  work  in  the  West  Indies.  This 
survey  was  made  and  four  boards  decided  immediately  to  form  the 
Board  for  Christian  Work  in  Santo  Domingo  and  to  enter  the  field 
unitedly.  A  fifth  board  joined  the  enterprise  a  little  later.  These 
boards  subscribed  to  the  budget,  which  is  expended  by  the  united  com¬ 
mittee.  \\"orkers  were  chosen  not  because  of  their  denominational 
affiliation,  but  because  of  their  suitability  for  the  work.  This  not  only 
a[)pealed  to  those  at  home,  anxious  to  go  a  step  further  in  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  Christian  unity,  but  it  met  an  immediate  response  among  the 
C’hristian  churches  of  Porto  Rico.  These  churches  were  so  impn'ssed 
with  the  needs  of  Santo  Domingo  and  the  opportunities  of  this  united 
apj)roach  that  they  not  only  surrendered  three  of  their  leading  ministers 
to  go  to  Santo  Domingo,  but  also  contributed  some  $3,000  for  the 
purchase  of  the  lease  and  equipment  for  a  hospital,  which  the  Board 
later  on  opened  in  Santo  Domingo  City. 

'The  five  boards  that  have  entered  into  this  united  program  are  the 
Home  Board,  General  and  W'oman’s,  of  the  Methodist  Pq)isco])al  and 
the  Presbyterian  U.  S.  A.,  and  the  Mission  Board  of  the  United 
Brethren,  The  budget  for  the  first  year’s  work  w'as  $80,000.  Head¬ 
quarters  on  the  field  have  been  established  in  Santo  Domingo  City 
where  a  large  building  was  purchased  for  $50,000.  This  building  pro¬ 
vides  a  center  for  church  and  social  work,  bookstore  and  residence  for 


10 


some  of  the  workers.  The  American  workers  are  the  acting- 
Superintendent  Rev.  Nathan  H.  Huffman  (United  Brethren),  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Horace  R.  Taylor  (Presbyterian),  and  two  American  trained 
nurses.  Miss  Violet  Parker  (Baptist),  and  Miss  Katharine  Fribley 
(Protestant  Episcopal).  There  are  regular  Sunday  School,  preaching 
services  and  prayer  meetings  under  each  of  the  three  Porto  Rican 
ordained  ministers,  who  are  working  in  the  Capital  City,  I^a  Romana 
and  San  Pedro  de  Macoris.  In  little  more  than  a  year’s  time  two  of 
these  congregations  have  become  regularly  organized  church  bodies  and 
tlie  members  are  already  manifesting  a  willingness  to  help  toward  the 
support  of  the  enterprise.  All  services,  wherever  they  are  conducted, 
are  overcrowded  and  the  facilities  for  taking  care  of  those  who  wish  to 
come  into  these  meetings  are  already  proving  inadequate. 

The  hospital,  maintained  in  a  rented  building  near  the  mission,  has 
also  met  with  phenomenal  success.  It  was  opened  just  six  months  ago, 
and  is  now  reaching  about  1,000  patients  a  month.  Besides  the  Amer¬ 
ican  staff  there  are  some  ten  native  helpers  serving  in  the  hospital, 
among  them  two  Porto  Rican  nurses  and  a  licensed  Dominican  chemist. 
The  need  for  this  medical  work  is  tremendous  and  the  commendations 
and  interest  expressed  lead  to  the  belief  that  there  is  no  limit  to  which 
this  hos2)ital  may  extend  its  service. 

Haiti 

The  development  of  the  influence  of  the  United  States  in  the  Carib¬ 
bean  and  Haiti,  in  particular,  is  such  that  this  is  evidently  becoming 
more  and  more  home  missions  territory.  The  American  Baptist  Home 
Missionary  Society  has  been  asked  to  undertake  work  in  this  country 
and  a  recent  investigation  of  the  situation  there  by  one  of  that  Board’s 
rej)resentatives  reports  that  government  officials  there  expressed  their 
eagerness  for  the  American  mission  boards  to  undertake  work  there. 
( Considerable  evangelistic  work  has  already  been  done  which  is  worth 
wliile,  but  little  educational  work  by  Protestants.  ’Phe  Episcopalians 
have  a  strong  work  in  one  section  of  the  country  and  a  good  deal  of 
Baj)tist  work  remains  as  the  fruits  of  work  of  the  English  Baptist  mis¬ 
sionaries  begun  about  1842.  The  English  Baptists  gave  up  this  effort 
about  1 900.  'I'he  work  has  been  carried  forward  and  has  grown  to 
where  it  is  practically  self-sup))orting.  Except  for  primary  schools  in 
connection  with  each  of  the  missions,  there  is  practically  no  educational 
work.  Such  work  is  greatly  needed  for  secondary  education  in  general 
and  especially  for  the  training  of  pastors.  It  is  expected  that  the 
Baptist  Home  Board  wdll  enter  this  field  soon. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  the  Hon.  Edwin  Denby,  recently  made 

11 


the  following  observation  about  the  necessity  of  Christian  work  in 
Santo  Domingo  and  Haiti; 

“It  is  my  opinion  that  the  missionary  societies  and  churches  of  the 
United  States  could  not  do  better  than  to  send  representatives  to  that 
field.  They  would  not  alone  be  conferring  benefits  upon  the  people, 
but  their  kindly  offices  should  do  much  toward  bringing  about  a  friendly 
feeling  between  the  people  of  that  country  and  the  United  States.  We 
have  a  great  and  very  practical  interest  in  its  condition  and  are  vitally 
concerned  with  its  relations  to  the  United  States.  Whatever  can  be 
done  toward  encouraging  friendly  feeling  toward  us  should  be  done 
and  the  churches  and  missionary  societies,  in  my  opinion,  can  be  of 
very  material  assistance.” 

'I'he  outstanding  needs  for  the  cooperative  work  in  the  West  Indies, 
not  to  mention  the  many  needs  of  the  various  denominational  Hoards. 
e\’erv  one  of  which  should  be  strengthened,  are  as  follows: 

Hospital  building  for  the  hospital  already  begun  in  Santo  Domingo. 

An  Industrial  School  in  Santo  Domingo. 

An  iTulustrial  School  in  Cuba. 

I‘',nlarging  of  the  Union  Hookstorc  and  Literature  ju’ogram  in  Cuba. 

A  Secretary  for  cooperative  work  in  Cuba. 

Summer  conference  grounds  with  rest  homes  for  Tuissionaries  in 
Porto  Rico  and  Cuba. 

Better  equipment  for  the  University  of  the  Antilles,  San  German, 
Porto  Rico. 

Property  for  Evangelical  Seminary  of  Porto  Rico. 

I'lidarged  e(|uipment  for  Union  Press  of  I’orto  Hico. 


607991422 


Committee  on  Cooperation  in  Latin  America 
25  Madison  Avenue,  New  York 


12 


A  e  OiTTRlCH,  LTD  .  NCW  YORK 


